An individual who have difficulty or who is not able to produce speech sounds appropriately or fluently or having difficulty with his or her voice, then they has a speech disorder.Speech and language disorder refers to the problems in communication and related areas such as oral motor function.

Causes:

Some causes of speech and language disorder include hearing loss, neurological disorders, brain injury, mental retardation, drug abuse, physical impairment such as cleft lip or palate or vocal abuse or misuse. Anyhow, the cause is unknown.

A child’s speech and language is considered to be delayed when the child is noticeably following his or her peers in the acquisition of speech and/or language skills.
An individual with speech disorder has difficulty in producing speech sounds or problems with voice quality. They might be characterized by a disruption in the flow or rhythm of speech, such as stuttering or cluttering, which is also called fluency disorder. Speech disorders may have combination of several problems like they might have difficulty with the way the sounds are formed, which is also called articulation or phonological disorder; they might have difficulty in their voice quality like with pitch, which is also called voice disorder. For example an individual may say ‘see’ for ‘ski’ or they may have difficulty in producing some sounds like ‘l’ or ‘r’.
An individual with language disorder might have difficulty or inability to understand or use words in context, both verbally or nonverbally it also includes improper use of words and their meanings, inability to express ideas, inappropriate grammatical patterns, reduced vocabulary and inability to follow directions. One or combination of these characteristics may occur in children who are affected by language learning disabilities or developmental language delay.

Educational implications:

Because all communication disorders carry the potential to isolate individuals from their social and educational surroundings, it is essential to find appropriate timely intervention. While many speech and language patterns can be called "baby talk" and are part of a young child's normal development, they can become problems if they are not outgrown as expected. In this way an initial delay in speech and language or an initial speech pattern can become a disorder which can cause difficulties in learning. Because of the way the brain develops, it is easier to learn language and communication skills before the age of 5. When children have muscular disorders, hearing problems or developmental delays, their acquisition of speech, language and related skills is often affected.

Speech-language pathologists assist children who have communication disorders in various ways. They provide individual therapy for the child; consult with the child's teacher about the most effective ways to facilitate the child's communication in the class setting; and work closely with the family to develop goals and techniques for effective therapy in class and at home. Technology can help children whose physical conditions make communication difficult. The use of electronic communication systems allow nonspeaking people and people with severe physical disabilities to engage in the give and take of shared thought.